


Sex Education

by ERERIWORLD



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Armin is an innocent bunny, Boss Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Boss/Employee Relationship, College Student Armin Arlert, God why did I start writing fanfiction again, Hanji's pronouns are they/them but I'm an idiot so let there be mistakes of pronouns, Healthy Relationships, M/M, Minor Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein, One-Sided Levi Ackerman/Petra Ral, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Armin Arlert, POV Levi Ackerman, Rebirth of the Rivarmin fics, Sex Toys, Sex store fic no one wanted, Tags May Change, Thank you all so much for everything, in the past though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:02:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29012490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERERIWORLD/pseuds/ERERIWORLD
Summary: The zany adventures of Armin working at a sex store and falling in love with the boss.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Levi
Comments: 59
Kudos: 136





	1. The Application

Chapter 1

How Armin found himself at a place like this resume in hand he would never know. No, that’s not true. His friend, Eren, landed him this opportunity. It started two months ago when the senior had an existential crisis when he realized that his degree didn’t necessarily mean you just got a job handed to you when you graduated. He had been struggling to find a job ever since to pay for his millions of dollars of debt. Okay, maybe college wasn’t exactly that much, but by the time you included interest it might as well be. So, here Armin was running out of money to keep him going and leaving only a few months left until college kicked him out due to graduating. He didn’t want to go back all the way to his home state to live with his grandfather since all his friends lived here, so he had to find something. 

Him and his two best friends were going to move into a two bedroom apartment together once they graduated, but they all had to find jobs first. How he ended up being the last to find one blew his mind. He was the smartest, at least according to their surrounding group of friends. Eren had found a job quickly because he always drank coffee at Starbucks and they hired him on the spot. Mikasa became this work out instructor at a gym she always went to. It seemed like they were just handed their jobs with no effort. Meanwhile, Armin was putting applications in everywhere. Retail stores, flower shops, zoos, fancy restaurants, and even some random business places he found on the internet. Nothing. Not a single call back.

In his desperation and depression, he agreed to go out drinking with Eren. He was supposed to be the DD, but like he said he was depressed and desperate. He might have done a couple shots and because he was basically a virgin in more ways than one he ended up getting drunk off his ass. That’s when Eren suggested he make one final attempt at a job when they got home. If Armin had been sober he would have told Eren he was crazy, but for the last time he was desperate and depressed. He submitted the application.

The next morning when he woke up, he found his phone had a voicemail on it. Confused, he hit the play button and nearly gasped and choked on his spit when he heard the sultry voice on the recording.

_ Hey, sorry for calling so late, I just looked at my messages. This is Levi Ackerman from Levi’s. I got your application here and it seems you need a first time job. I don’t know why you’d choose here as that first time job, but, hey, a kid’s gotta start somewhere. If you are serious about working here give me a call back and we’ll set something up. Number is 615-666-6969. And no we did not choose that to be our number. Bye. _

Armin was honestly confused at first. Application? Set something up? What did that mean? That’s when Armin remembered his late night shenanigans with Eren. He shot out of his shitty twin bed in their shared shitty dorm room and tried to get up, only to fall to his knees in nausea and dizziness. He heard Eren wake up and grumble about something before he felt his soft, warm hands on his shoulders.

“Hey, good job on last night’s drinking. I’ll get you some water and aspirin. You stay there and try not to puke.”

“Eren, you dick, they called me back.” Armin rushed out in a panic, because honestly what did he know about anything?!

“Who?”

“The…” Armin lowered his voice to a whisper, but the panic still clear, “ _ sex shop.” _

Eren paused for a moment before cackling, “You can’t be serious! Really?! What are you going to do? You should just ignore it. I wasn’t being serious!” He got up and walked out of the room, leaving Armin to try to work anything out in his fogged mind, before coming back and handing the blonde man a tall plastic cup of water and a couple red pills that Armin could only guess were some type of Tylenol or Ibuprofen. 

After taking full gulps of water with the pills and rubbing his head a bit, Armin found himself getting his mind and body back under control. He ignored Eren’s teasing before telling the brunette to get back to bed. He took his phone, a towel, and a fresh change of clothes and headed to the communal showers. In the shower he could think about what his next move was going to be. On one hand, he needed a job and nothing was landing in his lap except for this. On the other hand, he didn’t even know how sex even worked. Biologically he did. He had been through the process of sex ed in high school and seen the lab rats do the devil’s tango many times when they were allowed, but people on people with human emotions baffled him. He didn’t even know if he found anyone even attractive. He assumed he would just move in with Eren and Mikasa and he would live the rest of his boring, platonical life without needing to learn about that subject. Now here he was thinking about getting a job as a sex seller! What would his grandpa think?!

He quickly got out of the shower and dried himself off at that thought; his blond bob cut hair sticking to the side of his face in the process of fumbling around for his clothes. He was almost in the clear of not looking like an idiot of scrambling to get his shit together when a fellow tall, slim build walked in.

“Yo, Armin!”

He looked up and saw his friend, Jean, standing at a locker organizing his own toiletries. He was relieved to see the guitarist/music major because the guy could talk some sense into him. Unlike Eren, who was a dipshit, and Mikasa, who he’d be too embarrassed to even broach this subject with, Jean was a cool and honest guy to him, anyways. “Jean, I need your help!”

“Dude, whatever help you need in here, I doubt I can help with it. Marco probably wouldn’t be too pleased with that.”

Pale white cheeks turned a bright crimson while Armin finished getting dressed and packing up his shit. He looked back at the man and shook his head, “No, Eren got me into this thing and I need help deciding if I should take it. If you want after you, uh, shower, we can head down to the cafeteria and I can treat you to some coffee.” He gave him a shy smile. Armin was hoping the coffee offer would win Jean over. Jean loved coffee as much, if not more, than Eren. When he heard the man agree he waited around for him to finish and together they went down to the cafeteria.

“So, that’s what you needed help with.” Jean said, mulling it over as he stirred his coffee. “Well, I say why the hell not? You either will get the job or you won’t since you don’t know anything about it. Besides, you need a job if you want to live with Mikasa and Eren from what I hear, right? So, why don’t you just go for it? If you don’t like it you can always just quit when you find an actual job.”

Jean did have a point. It’s not like this would be a permanent thing. That eased Armin’s mind a bit. It’s not like he’d have to stay there forever. “Yeah, that’s true, but I really don’t know anything about it. Won’t I just be wasting their time?”

“That’s why they train you. Besides, it’s not like you need to like, have sex, with anything or anyone. You’re just selling some shit like any other retail job. It can’t be that hard. I think you’re overthinking it all.” Jean was about to go on when two sets of arms wrapped around him.

“That’s where you are. Should have told me you were going on a date with Armin.” A black haired, freckled boy whispered in Jean’s ear just loud enough for Armin to hear it.

“Hey, Marco.” Armin laughed at Jean’s embarrassment. The man was always embarrassed by Marco’s possessive traits, but Armin found it endearing because Marco never did it in a dickish way. He encouraged Jean to be with his friends, but liked to tease him to get him to blush like he was now.

“Hi, Armin! You guys are up early today. Y’all don’t have classes.” It was typical for Armin and his friends to sleep in until 2pm on days they didn't have classes, so being awake at 12:30pm was early for them.

“Yeah, Eren got me in this predicament, but Jean helped figure it out for me. I think I should give them a call soon. Who knows when they’ll find a replacement.” Armin laughed and got up. “Enjoy the coffee, Jean!”

“Thanks, man. Have fun with your sex job.”

Armin blushed a deep red and ran out of the cafeteria before anyone stared at him because of Jean’s comments.

Once out in the safety of the cafeteria's courtyard when no one was around, Armin called the number that he surprisingly remembered. Probably because the number was to be expected from a demonic shop like a sex store. It took two rings before someone picked up.

“Thank you for calling Levi’s. This is Farlan, how can I help you today?” A sweet tone came across the line.

“Umm… this is Armin. I was returning a call from Levi about a job offer. I was just calling back to arrange something with him?” Armin cursed his awkwardness on the phone. He was surprised the store was even open. Who the hell buys sex toys at noon? 

“Let’s see…” Armin could hear shuffling of papers in the background before a “aha!” came across the line. “Yes, got ya right here, Armin. Alright, looks like Levi would like to interview you sometime soon. What works best for you?”

“P-Probably an evening interview if that’s okay? I have school in the mornings, but I typically get done by two at the latest. Though I am off on Saturday and Sunday and I only have a half day on Wednesday.”

“Okay, Levi’s in tonight if that works? I know it’s short notice, but he’s really wanting to stop doing doubles as soon as possible. He’s looking to hire three people. We’re a new shop and it’s just me and him so far. We want to hire two full timers and one part timer. We’re open from 12pm to 3am. After midnight you get a dollar raise. It’s a pretty sweet gig. We don’t expect too much out of ya. We want two day people and two night people. If you work during the day you’ll be working with me and if you work at night you’ll be working with Levi. Morning shifts are from noon to 8pm. Night shifts are from 7pm to 3am. That hour we all overlap is when we’ll clean and do inventory or stock. The part timer is to relieve anyone who is out sick and to give people breaks throughout the week. How’s all that sound so far?”

Armin was actually impressed with the honesty so far. It sounded very organized and he liked the idea of always working with one of the bosses, at least that’s how Farlan sounded like he was. “Yeah, sounds good. Also I can make it tonight. What time?”

“Cool! I’ll put ya down for 7:30pm that way I can cover. Sound good?”

“Yeah. Umm…what should I wear?”

“Professional attire. We are a respectful business. Tattoos and piercings are fine, but please dress like you would for any other interview. Any other questions pertaining to the interview process? Levi will go over more of the business and job aspects later tonight.”

“No, thank you.”

That’s how Armin ended up here, resume in hand, dressed in a button down and black slacks. He felt stupid for wearing his black converse with such fancy attire, but he couldn’t find his flats in time for the interview and Eren’s were way too big. With a big inhale of air he entered the sex shop for the first time.


	2. The Interview

Chapter 2

The entrance was very PG in Armin’s mind. There was tables lining the walls that had stupid knick knacks on them. There were things like, drink coasters, shot glasses, card games, and to Armin’s amusement pictures of anime and pop culture. There was a rack of t-shrits and dresses with three mannequin figures wearing some of the merchandise in different poses in the center of the entrance way. It was very stylish with a grunge look. Armin jumped when a man walked up to him.

“Hey, welcome to Levi’s. Can I see your ID?” The man had black hair that was in a style of a short undercut. He had angular jaw bones with black eyeliner around his blue eyes. He had pale skin that looked even paler with his black shirt that just had Levi’s written across it in a white spray paint like style. He had dark blue jeans on and similar converse to the one’s Armin was wearing. His nails were painted a black shiny color that matched his black hoops that were pierced in his ears, right eyebrow and on either side of his bottom lip. What really caught Armin’s attention was the man’s arms. They were tattooed all the way up to where they disappeared under his sleeves. There were dogs and cats mixed with leaves and flowers in a stunning black and white pattern. The only color was the animal's intense eyes that stared straight on from where the animal lay hidden in the foliage.

Armin blinked a couple times to knock himself out of staring before rummaging through his wallet to pull out his ID. “S-Sorry. Here ya go. I’m here for the interview. Armin Arlert at your service.” Wow, way to sound like a total loser. Armin internally cringed at himself. 

Levi looked down at the ID and flipped it over turning it this way and that before handing it back to Armin. “Welcome. The name’s Levi. I’m the owner of this place. I’ll give you the tour.” He walked further in and gestured towards the counter that had different products on display along with a computer and the register. A taller man with a similar look to him was behind the counter. Armin noticed that he had short blond sandy hair and was far less tattooed than Levi, but had far more piercings. “That’s Farlan, my second in command.” The man leaning behind the counter waved to Armin.

“Hi.” Armin replied meekly, blushing a bit not really wanting to look around.

Levi took Armin to the left side of the store that had a bunch of lingerie for all sizes of women and men. More mannequins were spread throughout. These ones didn’t have faces on them, but they still looked nice with their decorative sun hats and their short dresses or shorts, one was even bold enough to wear just a bra and what could barely be considered panties. There was a small room on one of the walls that had a sign that read “fitting room”. “We have a strict cleanliness policy here. We do not allow couples into the fitting room. Only one person at a time. We have the keys at the front desk. We do not allow any returns unless the object is defective. We do not resell things here, we just destroy them and toss them out.”

“Even clothes? What if they don’t fit?”

“Then tough shit. Should have tried it on. We are allowed to get out anything from boxes or hangers for customers to see exactly what they are buying. You can’t try on underwear, but everything else people can try on. As for the toys, we can get them out of boxes and show people how they work and let them feel it in their hands with our supervision. Most of our popular toys here already have demos sitting out, but some toys we have to get out ourselves to let people see. That’s why there’s signs everywhere that say to have an employee to open the boxes.”

Armin nodded. So far this all made sense, but he was worried about monitoring people and showing them all the toys. He supposed it came with practice though. He hoped he could actually do this job without dying of embarrassment.

“To the left of the store we have our pipes in this locked case. We legally can not sell them to people who call them bongs. These pipes are a pain in my ass and I want to stop selling them, but Farlan won’t let me. He’s the druggie so ask him if you have any questions about any of this shit. Most people know what they are looking for so it’s not a big deal just something to be aware about.”

Armin’s eyes widened a bit, “druggie?”

Levi looked back at him and chuckled. “Yeah, like weed. Nothing too hardcore.”

“I-I guess.” Armin mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck looking further on this side of the room only to blush even more when he caught sight of the dildos.

“Over here we got our main inventory of toys. They’re sectioned off into categories of what they are. On the main wall we have our range of assortments of vibrators.” Levi said gesturing to the huge wall with all sorts of colorful packages and designs that seemed extremely overwhelming to Armin. How was anyone supposed to choose anything with so many options?! In the center of the room there were black shelves that made short rows facing the pipe case. “As you walk through these rows we got your other female aimed products. As they go back they get bigger in size. So starting out you got your bullets, then your other vibrators that are shit and therefore don’t deserve to be on the wall, dildos, strap ons, and pussy pumps. On that same wall over there is all the anal accessaries.”

Armin blushed darker at those last words. What in the hell was a pussy pump?! He was going to die of embarrassment right here. How was he supposed to talk about any of this with customers? Or do people just know what they want, come in, and he just check them out? That seemed far less troublesome and awkward. Maybe that’s what was expected of him.

Levi stopped and looked at him, “I take it you’re not that experienced in this type of retail?” The man seemed amused by that, “you get used to it, don’t worry.”

It took a moment to realize the man was being considerate of his panic and that made him relax a bit. So, the man wasn’t expecting him to be completely comfortable. He seemed understanding enough. “S-Sorry… I just need a job and you’re the only one who called me back. I know I might not be the best for the job, but I’m a fast learner and a hard worker.”

Levi smirked a bit and couldn’t resist a “I’m sure you are” comment that made Armin just want to die in a hole and never come out. He set himself up for that one and he had to wonder why the fuck did he sign up for this. Of course he didn’t have to take it, but it was true. He wasn’t getting any leads anywhere else. Maybe this was his destiny. To die in embarrassment every day talking about  _ sex _ something he never even considered himself. God forbid he actually saw anyone he  _ knew  _ here. 

Levi saved him from the hole he was imagining getting buried in by having them move on to the first room that interrupted the great wall of viborators. There were three rooms on this wall all with soft purple curtains that came down and tied to either side of the door way. There were signs labeled on each door, the first saying Men’s, the second being Porn and Goodies, and the third being BDSM. Levi led him to the Men’s room and it had a similar layout to the main room. Armin had no idea what any of this was, nor did he know that men even had toys to enjoy themselves. Didn’t your hand work well enough? “On the main wall you got all your pocket pussy-like objects. On all of these little shelves you got your cock rings, penis pumps, and dolls. The dolls are fucking creepy so I don’t recommend getting those out for when ya start training.”

“What the hell even is all this?” Armin muttered under his breath and looked at it all. He felt very overwhelmed and light headed. There was just  _ so much. _ Armin may be a science major, but this seemed far more complicated.

Again Levi chuckled in amusement, “don’t worry I’ll train ya. I’m not going to feed ya to the sharks on your first day. We’ll take it slow. Just know that all of this exists.”

Armin nodded and walked with him to the next room. On the wall there was a bunch of pink products that just had the manufacturer name of Bachelorette written in cursive on it.

“This is the room that’s also a pain in my ass. If we didn’t make so much money from it I’d stop selling this garbage too. Our main wall gives you all the party shit that anyone would need. All this shit is dirt cheap and retarded, but damn do the rich soriety girls and old moms go crazy for all this bullshit when planning a party. It’s a pain in the ass to clean every night, but most of our money probably comes from it.”

It was then that Armin noticed he hadn’t seen any customers in the store. He was somewhat surprised, but he supposed it was the weekend at 8pm, so maybe it was just early? “You don’t seem busy. Is that normal?”

“All hell will break loose soon. Don’t worry we make a killing at the end of the night. If I didn’t have to hire more help me and Farlan would be able to retire and grow old together.”

“Oh, you two are together?” Armin asked curiously looking up for the first time in Levi’s eyes. It made his chest feel like he couldn’t breathe with the way the man’s hard eyes stared at him so he had to look away after a moment.

“God, no. Guy is a pain in my ass, but we’ve been friends since college so there’s that.” Levi paused for a moment before continuing on with the tour. “These shelves in the middle of the room hold all of our porn collection. You’d be surprised that people still buy this shit when you can just get it online for free. They too are organized. You got your straight, gay, lesbian, tranny,” He paused and visibly cringed, “hentai and lastly furry.” 

Armin wondered why the transgender category made Levi react that way, but he decided he wouldn’t ask. The man seemed like a very “I don’t give a shit” type of person, so it surprised Armin that he wouldn’t be supportive of the transgender movement.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not transphobic.” Levi grumbled and picked up a DVD package, “I just hate that the porn industry calls this type of porn ‘tranny porn’.”

Taken off guard that Levi was able to read him so easily, Armin looked at the package to see a bunch of girls with fake dicks fucking a bunch of men. “S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to judge you! I-I was just surprised since you don’t seem the type! B-But now I get it! S-Sorry.” There he goes again picking up a shovel and continuing to bury his own grave. Maybe he should just leave now and pretend this never happened. He clearly was not cut out for this.

Levi took the DVD back and put a hand on Armin’s shoulder, “hey, you good? I’m not a soft person and I’m used to all this, but you look like you’re about to pass out from all your blood rushing to your face and I don’t want to call the ambulance.”

Armin looked back at him and could tell the man was concerned. The man wasn’t exactly the most expressional person Armin had ever met, but his eyes did tell his true emotions. He was worried on some form of level. His cold hand on his shoulder grounded Armin and brought him back to reality, “I-I’m fine. I just keep cringing at myself for being so stupid. I’m screwing this all up, I’m sorry.”

“Honestly, I’d rather take you than half the people I’ve interviewed. Most people I’ve come across think it’s all fun and games and that this is just a joke, but honestly it’s hard work. You need a certain personality to work in this business. A loud and obnoxious person just isn’t going to work as easily as someone who is more calculated and sincere. So, honestly you’re doing fine. I can see that you’re taking in the information I’m giving you and that’s a good start.” Levi paused and shrugged, “But anyways, moving on, our last room is the BDSM room.”

Armin was glad their personal moment was over and followed Levi to the last room. He was sorry to have walked into it because it looked like a torture room on steroids. There were more mannequins there showing off the different masks, whips and latex clothing.

“Welcome to the BDSM room. Here you’ll find your whips, floggers, bed restraints, masks, electroshock kits, fuck machines, handcuffs, leashes, collars, you name it it’s basically here. This may come as a shock, but we do practice the safe, sane and consensual rules here and next to each product is the safety guidelines we recommend when practicing with these objects. We get a lot of Fifty Shades of Grey dumbasses in here thinking they know what they’re doing when they don’t.” Levi turned back to Armin and smirked a bit, “Any questions you have about this kind of stuff I might as well be an expert in.” 

With that statement, Armin’s grave was dug and he hurled himself into it mentally. “O-Okay.”

Levi took him out of the room and down a hall where he pointed out the bathrooms and then went into a door that had a security code on it. Behind that door there were a bunch of boxes and back stock that was just lying around. Levi took him into another room that had a desk, microwave, coffee maker, and coats hanging on the wall. There were metal lockers in the corner, five in total, but only two had names on them. Levi pulled out a folding chair and then sat down on the desk chair, “Sit.”

Armin obeyed feeling like it was more of a command than a suggestion.

“Alright, my interview process is pretty laid back. I pretty much already got a feel for you, and whatever you didn’t already express to me out there I have written down on your application. Basically, we have a pretty straight forward expectation here. Come to work, sell some shit, clean, stock and go home. Keep anyone under 18 out. We are open from noon to 3am every day. The weekends are our busiest, so they are mandatory to work, unless already agreed upon to have off. We just got built over the summer, so people are still discovering us, but I plan to run a very clean and safe environment here. There are cameras in all the rooms that face in all directions. Any form of harassment, whether from employees or customers, is not tolerated and you can kick them out if they’re being a douchebag to ya.” Levi looked up from shuffling papers around and shrugged. “You start out at $10 an hour. After midnight you get $11. I saw here you want full time in the evenings so you’ll normally be working with me though sometimes you’ll work with Farlan too. Any questions?”

Armin took all that information in and nodded. It seemed pretty cut and dry. “No that’s all pretty reasonable.”

“We do have a uniform. Our shirts will be provided for you, but you will need to wear dark colored jeans or pants. Tennis shoes are fine. We’ll also give you a name badge. If you want the job it’s yours. You’ll be starting out your three weeks training as soon as you are available.”

“Really?! That’s it?” That was a very short interview! Armin was relieved he didn’t have to answer any questions or talk all that much.

“I’m good at reading people. I think you’ll fit in just fine here. So, Armin, when can you start?”


	3. First Day

Chapter 3

Armin did not complain when he found himself already working by the time the week was out. His grandfather congratulated him on getting a job via a phone call that took place the night before his first day. He was nervous and wanted the old man’s expertise on first days on the job, though Armin told him he worked at a fancy clothing shop that required him to go out of his way to actually sell merchandise. His grandfather was able to calm him down and make him think logically about it. People didn’t know what they actually wanted until someone suggested something to them then that gets the ideas going. Armin was introverted at heart, but when it came to group efforts he found himself enjoying having others there to support him, even if he had to become the leader. That’s how he decided to handle this situation. He was just going to go in and act like he knew what he was fucking doing and sell, sell, sell. He had to show that he was serious with his work. Levi did seem like a no nonsense type of person, afterall, something Armin could admire.

With all that in mind, he walked to work in his dark skinny jeans, ratty converse, and a white undershirt. Levi had said that he had plenty of logo tshirts upon arrival that he could just change into, so Armin didn’t want to wear something that would be too annoying to either remember to take home or just wear underneath. He took a couple breaths before walking in. The bell rang above him and he stood awkwardly by the register looking around, waiting for Levi to come get him. The man must have either gone to the restroom or was rummaging around in the back doing god knows what. If Levi didn’t seem like a more admirable guy he would have wondered if something more fitting of a  _ sex _ shop was occuring in the back. 

He took in the art that hung on the walls a little bit more now that he had time to actually take them in. There were a couple different models lining the walls, but what Armin was most surprised to find was a picture of Levi shirtless and sporting just black boxers while pinning a young blond woman that was also in black lace panties and bra. She was looking up at him in fear while he looked down at her like he  _ owned  _ her. Armin gulped a bit and looked away quickly. He didn’t know if he could look Levi in the eyes, but it didn’t matter because the man finally made his way back carrying a box.

He sat the box down on the counter and walked around so that he was inside the register space, “comere and we’ll get ya clocked in.”

Armin followed him behind the counter and watched as Levi entered some things into the computer pulling up different programs and getting Armin set up to actually be an employee in the database. Once he was done, Levi finally showed him how to log into the computer and clock in. He instructed Armin to get changed in the restroom in his uniform shirt and showed him his own locker which Armin placed his bag and things in before going and changing in the restroom. He came back to the register counter and watched Levi count the money by hand.

When Levi was finished he signed the book explaining with every shift Armin should count the money after he arrived and before he left for the night. He was about to continue the instructional basics when a customer walked in. He waved at them as his tone of voice changed to something higher pitched and friendly. It took Armin a little off guard because the man normally talked in a low and irritated voice. “Hey, can I see your ID?”

“Really? I look that young?” The man laughed as he pulled out his ID and showed it to Levi.

Levi turned to Armin and showed him the ID, “We just got new IDs for the state so they’re a bit confusing at first. Basically there’s like five different places they put the date of birth. So you gotta make sure all of those match, and then look at the picture to verify it’s actually the person. Of course you gotta make sure they’re eighteen as well. This isn’t a Spencers. Not eighteen no entry.” Levi gave the guy back his ID, “Sorry, newbie. Anyways, feel free to look around. I’ll be by to see if ya need anything after a few. If you have any questions let us know. Don’t open up any packages we can do that for you.” Levi watched the man walk away after a quick ‘thank you’ before turning back to Armin and whispering, “watch he’ll open up every fucking box.”

Armin snorted a bit at the change in behavior and looked at Levi in confusion, “really? Even though you literally just said that?”

“Yup, happens every time.” Levi gestured to a big monitor, “So now that we got a customer in here if you think they seem suspicious you can watch them on our twenty cameras. This is also where you can watch them struggle to open up all these fucking packages. I try to stop them before they totally abliderate the damn things.”

“So far this seems pretty easy.”

“Yeah it’s not so bad. So, I don’t know if I mentioned this, but you do get commission for everything you sell. It comes out to like 3% of the sale or something like that. That’s not really my department, so I’m not exactly sure how Farlan maths it out. I’m just here to sell the shit and sign the papers, honestly. You’ll get the hang of this in no time.” 

This kept getting better and better. Armin felt like he could actually get somewhere with his student loan debt now that he had, what seemed to be, a pretty decent job if he could get the hang of it. “So, basically just sell the most expensive thing to people?”

“It’s more complicated than that. Come,” Levi led him to the great wall of vibrators and picked up three. “This one is a Frederick’s of Hollywood. Retail price is $150. Basically the only people who want this are the Karen’s of the world who want designer brands only. It’s actually a rip off when you compare the price to better vibes. Really the only good thing about this is that it’s material is super soft which is kinda good I guess, but for the price it’s shit. This is the middleman, and one of my main recommendations, Evolved. This vibarator is only like $80 and it has more functions than the Frederick’s, maybe just a touch harder, and it’s half the price. And then you get Adam and Eve bullshit. Basically anything is better than these pieces of shits, but if you got a cheapskate who just wants a rechargeable thing then this is your go to, but I always warn people that it’s going to give out on them in like three months because they’re pieces of shit.”

Armin’s eyes widened a bit. This was a lot more complicated than he thought. “Wow… I didn’t think it’d be all that.”

“Don’t worry you’ll figure it out quickly. Basically you’ll just get shit out and compare them. Once you get your main brands down it’s pretty simple from there.”

Armin nodded and looked at all the different pricing. He didn’t understand who had hundreds of dollars to spend on all this, but he decided that that was probably why only adults came in here. He felt like he was still a child compared to all this. Hell, he couldn’t even afford to get Taco Bell once a week yet alone splurge on a bunch of stuff like this.

Levi put away the boxes and then walked over to the older gentleman that Armin felt a little awkward going up to. Levi and he were probably his grandchildren’s age and here they were talking about sex objects to him. “You still doin’ okay?”

“Yeah, just looking for something for my girl.”

“What does she like? Clitoral or penetration?”

Armin’s eyes widened as he stared at Levi, face turning a bright red. How could Levi ask that so straight faced?! Who asks something like that?!

“I’d say a little of both. She doesn’t have any of this stuff and I thought it would be fun to surprise her with something. Honestly this is a bit over my head.” He laughed a very gruff laugh, scratching at his whitening beard.

“Did you have a price limit in mind? I can show you a couple different things.”

“Well… probably something around $100 at most. I don’t want to go too crazy.”

“Okay. How about this?” Levi walked back over to the wall and picked up a magenta toy that had a long shaft and what looked like a pinwheel coming out of it. “This is cool because there’s penetration and the spinner acts like tongues lapping at the clit. Especially if you put some lube on them. Of course it also vibrates as well.”

Armin watched as Levi showed the man the toy before the man decided he’d rather just have something that could be used either or. Levi ended up putting the toy at the desk and then getting a smaller vibrator out. They went back and forth a couple times, more and more toys ending up at the desk before the man finally settled on what he wanted. All the while Armin absorbed the information Levi gave the man and how he hinted at which ones were better, whether it was for the quality, the power, the size or strength. Levi seemed to know it all and that only made Armin feel more self conscious about not knowing anything. How was he supposed to ever be good at this? Wouldn’t he just be a burden? What if he lost sales? In the end Levi had convinced the man to get cleaner and the toy before the man left them to be by themselves once more. 

“I fucking hate people.” Levi groaned his voice dropping back down to what Armin was quickly becoming used to being his actual voice rather than his customer service voice. The blond wondered if he would have a switch in his head that turned on and off like that one day.

“Why? He just didn’t seem educated on what he actually wanted.” Armin shrugged, he was actually impressed that Levi even helped the guy since it seemed like such a hassle to the man.

“Exactly. Our sex education system is shit. Not only that, but now I have to sit here and clean all these motherfucking toys and put them back in the box because he didn’t buy fucking shit.”

“But the one he went home with was pretty good, wasn’t it?” Armin was confused by his boss’ bad mood. Didn’t the sale go okay?

“I mean, it was okay, but I showed him like eight others that were a better value. I was excited because he said his budget was $100, but he went home with something that was only $50 in total and that was with the cleaner.” Levi explained before turning to Armin and showing him the box he had brought out earlier. “These are the newest bralettes and panties. Can you put them on the hangers that match the sizing and then once you’re done I can show you where to put them. Organize them by size, like, small, medium, large, ect.”

“Got it.” Armin nodded and started to do his task. They worked like that for a couple hours, Armin organizing and putting clothes on hangers, and Levi going around and cleaning, helping customers or rearranging. It was quiet except for the background music that sounded a little like punk rock. “Is this your style of music?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I guess. I haven’t really changed my music tastes since high school, I guess that goes along with my looks too. I never got out of that emo stage.”

“Oh? I don’t think I went through that. I mean, I know people who did, but I didn’t really go through the angsty teen stage.” Armin smiled a little, remembering the shenanigans that he used to get into with his friends back home. Most of them he didn’t talk to anymore, but that was more to do with the fact that they were all growing up and going their own separate ways rather than anything actually breaking up the friendships. He supposed that’s what high school reunions were for. 

“You don’t seem like you would have. Hell, you probably were that rich popular kid who mommy and daddy handed everything to.”

“Not really. I mean, I wouldn’t say we were too poor to eat, but we certainly weren’t rich. My parents never got to own anything and when they died I didn’t really inherit much. My grandpa raised me mostly and he put a lot of rules and structure around me so I didn’t really have the chance to be a rebel since he set up pretty fair standards.” Armin explained as he picked up the last of the clothing and put it where Levi instructed him to.

“Yeah, you don’t peg me as the kid to get in much trouble.” Levi looked at the time. “Alright, I’m gonna show you how to close up shop and then we’ll head out of here.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Armin smiled and walked around the store as Levi locked the doors, turned off various lights. They stopped at the pipe case and Levi opened up the doors with the turn of the locks. “Oh, we don’t leave this closed?”

“Nah, the case is more expensive than the shit inside it. It would suck ass if someone busted the glass just to get a $40 pipe.” He stood back up and walked over to the register, counting the money for a final time before pulling a curtain to the side to reveal a safe. “So, you’ll put the deposit in here and on Saturdays the bank will come by and pick it up. It’s all pretty standard stuff.” 

Armin nodded and tried to remember all the steps, feeling a little overwhelmed and sluggish from his first day. He walked to the back and grabbed his stuff before heading out the back door where Levi turned on the alarm system and walked out.

He stopped upon realizing that his car was the only one in the parking lot, “Is someone comin and gettin ya?”

Armin looked up and shrugged, “No, I was just gonna walk home.”

“This isn’t the greatest area to do that at night. Want me to take you back to the dorms? You go to Trost, right?”

“No, it’s okay. I can manage. Thanks, though.” Armin really didn’t want to burden his new boss with his transportation problem, but he felt a little happy that Levi would do that for him. Maybe the man wasn't so stand offish like Armin originally thought?

Levi shrugged, “suit yourself.”

With that Armin watched him get in, what appeared to be, his dark green four door car and drive off. Once he had turned the corner, Armin felt a little bit more lonely as he walked the mile back to his dorm room. Levi was right that the area wasn’t the safest, but to be honest, no area was at 1am in the morning. He was hungry, but he didn’t have the energy to make himself anything when he arrived back in his warm dorm room. 

Eren grumbled when he walked in the room, the light shining in. “How was the first day?”

Armin looked up at him while changing his clothes into pajamas and smiled a bit, “I think I actually am going to like it.” It was the truth. The job itself wasn’t that hard and he kind of found Levi a little interesting. He hoped he could learn more about both aspects.


	4. Bitchy Customers

Chapter 4

It had been one week since Armin’s first day and he found he was actually getting the hang of it. He was lucky to have a teacher as knowledgeable as Levi to teach him all he needed to know. He wouldn’t say he was an expert about everything, but he was able to help customers out when they picked up stuff he knew Levi wouldn’t necessarily recommend.

“I can’t believe you actually like working there!” Eren laughed, breaking Armin out of his thoughts.

He was currently sitting in the cafeteria with his closest friends, eating a baked potato and chicken nuggets.

Jean rolled his eyes at Yeager and shrugged, “Don’t let this dipshit ruin it for ya, Armin. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”

Marco hummed and leaned over to whisper in Armin’s ear, “Do you get any discounts?”

Armin blushed a bit at Marco’s closeness, but he nodded at the question, “yeah, 40% off.”

“Gosh, Armin! You have to hook me up with some things!”

Jean was quick to hide his face in his book that he was trying to study from, an audible thump heard under the table where he kicked Marco's leg.

Mikasa laughed a little at the couple and looked over at Eren before squeezing his cheek, “don’t get any ideas.”

Eren swatted her hand away and grumbled, “Shut up, it’s not like I have anyone to do anything like that with anyways.”

Armin was thankful that the conversation veered from his job and into Eren’s love life after that. It’s not that he was ashamed of his job, or that embarrassed anymore, it was just that he didn’t really like talking about it. He still felt awkward with the teasing and, to be honest, he wished everyone just treated it like a normal job. He just wanted to make money that’s all! Levi had told him last night that if he wanted to make more money he could hook him up with some other jobs, but not to feel pressured. He didn’t really go into what those jobs would be, but said he’d talk more about it tonight. The two had started to talk more about personal stuff and less about work as the week had gone on. Armin had learned that Levi liked to drink fresh coffee with lots of caramel creamer in it throughout the night and that he had a huge sweet tooth for pastries. Armin had started to scold his older boss about his bad diet to which he would just tell him to ‘fuck off’. Armin had also learned that the man was a whopping 34 year old man! He had never gone to college, but he worked hard to make something out of himself to spite his parents. Him and Farlan were childhood friends and they had agreed to go into business together after Farlan went to college. Levi supplied the money and Farlan supplied the know-how. That was something Armin could admire. There were more little things Armin would notice about his boss. Like how he would hold his mug with the tips of his fingers on the edges rather than the handle. He noticed how the man would take good care of his piercings and tattoos by putting lotion on the tattoos before and after his shift. He’d also go to the restroom and clean out his piercings. He said that he didn’t have time to do it at home before he left, so he just did it when he got in which is what he was doing the first day of Armin’s shift. Armin had started a routine of getting the coffee ready while Levi tended to his things, to which the man called him a saint for. It was fun working with Levi even when there weren't any customers to keep them busy.

Armin snapped out of his thoughts again when Eren tapped him on the shoulder to tell him they had to get going. They grabbed their bags, threw away their trash, and then walked to their next set of classes.

After his final class, Armin grabbed some dinner before he walked to Levi’s. It was a walk he was getting used to, but he was dreading the winter time. Armin didn’t like the cold and he hoped that Levi’s was heated decently or else he would have to order a hoodie from the company to wear. He walked into the store and found Farlan at the desk. “Oh. Hi.”

“Hey, honey-bun! Levi won’t be in tonight. Do you think you can handle the place by yourself or would you like me to stay?” Farlan asked watching as Armin came around, clocked in, and started counting the drawer.

“Umm… I think I can handle it.” The blond nodded to himself.

“Cool! If you have any issues let me know. I left my number and Levi’s on the computer. If you have any questions you can call us, or, you know, look it up on the computer. I got most of the stocking and cleaning done this morning, so I didn’t leave too much for you to do in case you got hammered, but you know where the check list is, right?”

Armin thought for a moment before nodding again.

“Sweet! Well, I’m gtfoing then. See ya, Honey-Bun!”

Armin didn’t know where the nickname came from, but from what he had heard from Levi about Farlan it was to be expected. He made sure Farlan left before going and changing the radio station to something he liked before setting his stuff in the back. He never realized how quiet the place actually was until now. It was kinda eerie and the mannequins didn’t help. He looked at the checklist and started doing it. It wasn’t long before his first customer, a middle aged woman, came in. Armin walked up to her taking in her appearance. She was a stout, heavy set, woman with long blond hair and a very angry face.

“Hello! Welcome to Levi’s! My name is Armin. If there’s anything I can help you with let me know. Please, don’t open any boxes, I can do that for you! Otherwise feel free to look around, but first can I see your ID?” She huffed and handed him her ID, which Armin glanced over, and with his approval he handed it back. He was about to walk away when she stopped him, “yes, I was in here earlier and Farlan Church told me I could get my money back for these.” She walked across the room and picked up some shirts. “I had paid for these three shirts last Friday and they didn’t end up in my bag.”

“Oh. Would you just like the shirts?”

“No! I needed them last Friday for a birthday and now it was ruined! Please, can I just have my money back?”

Armin shifted a bit on his spot, “Well, we typically don’t do cash back, let me give him a call just to confirm, okay?”

She huffed and crossed her arms as she took the shirts up to the register, following Armin to it.

Armin called Farlan only to be disappointed when the man didn’t answer. He was probably still driving. Maybe he had told Levi about it? He tried calling him and when he didn’t answer, Armin was starting to get nervous. The woman was clearly upset. Why hadn’t Farlan told him about this before he left?! He bounced on his foot a bit as he tried calling a total of three times. On the third voicemail he hung up and turned to the woman. “I’m sorry, they’re not picking up. I’ll keep trying. Feel free to look around.” “No. I will be late for work if I stay much longer. Come on. I already told you he approved it. Please, can you just give me my money so I can get out of here?” Armin bit his lip, but decided she was probably right. She did know his last name, Farlan was in today and he was the manager. Everything seemed to check out on the lady’s end. “Okay…” He rang up the shirts as a return only for the computer to come up with a box that needed a manager authorization password on it, blocking the transaction. He bit his lip even more and clicked out of it. It was a $80.17 transaction. They obviously weren’t answering their goddamn phones. What was he supposed to do?! With quick thinking, he made it an even exchange and gave her the money. He would have to explain this all to Levi and/or Farlan, but what was he supposed to do in that situation!? The woman said thank you and left. He collapsed in the chair and sighed. This was already off to a rough start.

To Armin’s pleasant surprise, he didn’t have any other problems the rest of the night and was actually in better spirits until he realized that his deposit was going to be short. He stared at the screen and bit his lip even more, making it a bloody mess. He sighed and was about to pick up the phone to call his managers once again when the phone rang. He jumped a bit and answered it, “Thank you for calling Levi’s! This is Armin, how can I assist you?”

“Hey, Honey-bun! Sorry for the extra late call, but I saw you had called. My phone was dead and wouldn’t turn back on. I’m sorry about that. How was your first night working alone? No troubles?”

Armin’s heart started beating heavily and tears started to fill his eyes. The man had entrusted him to do this correctly and he failed. He started to tell Farlan the story and as the story went on the man’s happy mood disappeared.

“Oh…” He let out a sigh and a groan before coming back, “Fuck that bitch. Armin, it’s okay I’ll deal with it in the morning. Just drop the money like you would normally. The drawer will just be short for tomorrow. It’s okay. Besides that did you have any problems?”

Armin sniffled and looked at the ground, “n-no. I’m sorry… am I going to be in trouble? You can take it out of my pay…”

“Nah, man, this was my bad. I told you, you could call me and I failed you on that aspect. Just get home safe tonight, okay?”

“O-Okay.” Armin hung up the phone and dropped the deposit before locking the doors and going around the store and turning off the lights. He opened the pipe case and put the drawer money in their safe in the back. He grabbed his stuff, clocked out and walked to the back door. He punched in the code for the security system and walked out. He wiped his eyes and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice. “Hey, kid, get in.” Armin looked up and saw Levi sitting on the hood of his green car. “W-What are you doing here?”

“I owe ya for covering for me tonight. I had some bullshit to deal with. Get in, I’ll drive ya home.”

“Y-You don’t have to.” Armin mumbled, blushing a bit, “I can walk.”

“Armin.” Levi put his hand on his shoulder, his hand had a firm grip and it made Armin’s shoulder warm. “Get in the damn car before I throw you in it.”

Armin walked to the passenger side and got in, relieved that it was nice and warm. The seats were leather which only made him want to fall asleep right there.

“Have you been crying?” Levi asked as he started the drive after Armin told him his address, which he punched in his phone to get directions.

“N-No!” Armin blushed a dark red. He didn’t want to talk about it to his boss when he already broke down on his other boss just 10 minutes ago.

“You're full of shit, Arlert, and you know it. If you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong, that’s fine. I just thought I’d offer.”

Armin looked over at the older man and was captivated once again at his angular face and his determined, tired gray eyes. To say Levi was attractive was an understatement. His piercings drew his attention to all the right places (mostly his eyes and lips). He looked out the window to hide his blush, as he once again told the story about the horrid woman. At the end of the story, Armin flinched at Levi’s cursing.

“Fucking hell! I’m gone for one night and all the assholes feel like they can come out!” Levi shook his head, “I didn’t get your calls, I’m sorry.”

“I-It’s okay. You were out. I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. It’s not really anyone’s fault except that bitches. We’ll ban her ass, no problem. No need to cry about it.” Levi said and looked at Armin, who was looking away from him. Levi wanted the blond to look at him again. He wanted Armin to know that he was serious. Words along could not express how pissed he was right now at this little mishap. Mostly, he was pissed at himself. He placed his hand back on Armin's tiny shoulder again and waited for the blond to look at him.

Armin looked over at Levi when he placed his hand on his shoulder again. He realized they had arrived at his destination, but Levi was keeping him there with that hand of his. His cheeks felt like they were on fire as he blushed more. Levi had a way to just look at people like he owned them and it lit Armin’s belly on fire.

“If anything like that happens again, tell them to fuck off. We only do equal product exchanges for damaged products, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

Levi gave him a half smile, more of a twitch of the lips, before taking his hand off his shoulder, “Have a nice night, Armin. See you tomorrow.”

“S-See ya.” He got out of the car and shut the door, watching Levi drive off before getting into his dormitory. He walked up the flight of steps and ran to the bathroom. He splashed his face with water and looked at himself in the mirror. What was wrong with him?! Levi was his boss. It was not okay! He had never wanted to jump someone in all his life and here he was, wanting to do just that just because some guy, _who was way older_ , decided to be nice to him. Maybe it was just the fact sex was all he talked about all day long that made his brain finally flip that switch and since Levi is this new person he could learn about he was just focusing all that energy towards him. That had to be it. Because this was something he had never even considered before. With that in mind, he walked back to his room and collapsed in his bed to get some sleep after changing.

Now if only his dreams weren’t also plagued with the man he was lusting after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the comments! I read all of them and they keep me going on writing this! This is a lot of fun to write and I hope it's a fun read! :)


	5. Levi's Offer

Chapter 5

Eren had to wake Armin up the next morning. It was something the brunette didn’t have to do often, but when he did, it was always a challenge. He had to first try to shake the blond gently as not to make him too mad. When that didn’t work he had to take Armin’s blanket away and hope the cold air would wake him up. He didn’t like waking his friend up this way, because it always put him in a pissy mood, but he didn’t have a choice. Armin was out like a light.

Armin grumbled and woke up snatching the blanket back, “it’s cold!”

“We need to head to class, unless you wanna play hooky?” Eren asked looking down at the grumbling blond. He knew Armin wouldn’t because he was too much of a stickler for the rules, but he wanted to offer because he had heard that Armin was dropped off last night from their trusted, night owl companion, Jean. Eren was curious to see who Armin got to take him home. The blond was a very considerate person, so Eren didn’t think Armin would ask for a ride home unless it was bad weather, which last night wasn’t, which meant that the driver had to have been someone who really pushed Armin into doing it. Eren wanted to make sure Armin wasn’t getting targeted by someone perverted. He had a feeling the place was run by some old creep. To be honest, he wasn’t really excited that Armin worked there. When he had suggested it, he was drunk off his ass. If he had known this was the reality he wouldn’t have even drank that night.

Armin made some intangible noises before getting up and going about grabbing some clothes. It would be another long day and he wanted it to be over already. He wanted to have enough time after class to make Levi some cookies in the student kitchen. The man would appreciate the sweet snack for later tonight and he wanted to thank him for the ride home. It helped that Armin already had the ingredients stashed away in a container in his and Eren’s closet (side for the refrigerator ingredients) for safekeeping. He was about to head out to the showers with his shower supplies when Eren stopped him with a question that took him completely off guard.

“So, who brought you home last night, hmm?”

Armin’s face lit up like a stop sign as he remembered last night and the dreams that had followed last night. He couldn’t believe he was seeing his boss in that light! It was completely unprofessional. Maybe he shouldn’t even bring him cookies in. He didn’t want to come off like he was trying to seduce him! He just wanted to say thank you, but saying it didn’t really seem like it was good enough. Oh, why did he have to always overthink these things?! He blamed Eren and his stupid curiousity. “It was just Levi.” Armin decided to just tell the truth with as little detail as possible. The less Eren and the rest knew the better. 

“Oh? Didn’t you say he was extra awkward? Why would you want to hitch a ride with him?” Eren asked as he gathered his own shower supplies. He was even more curious now. From what he had heard, Levi could be a little socially awkward. He had crude jokes and he didn’t really talk about himself all that much. He seemed quiet and like a loner type. Eren pictured a grandpa like figure who had been through the war and always told weird stories due to dementia or some other brain disease that old people got. For someone who owned a sex shop they had to be someone that was beyond their prime and out of their mind. “Is he trying to hit on you?”

Armin dropped his stuff out of shock, cursing at himself, “No, it was nothing. He just did it because he left me by myself last night. It was nothing. Gosh, it’s not that big of a deal, and no, he’s not hitting on me. He was just being nice by returning the favor. Why are you being so nosy?” It was far too early for this kind of a talk and, honestly, Armin just wanted to cool his face and get the sweat off of him in the shower. He didn’t want to sit here and be interrogated by his friend. He loved Eren deeply, but sometimes the guy was a complete irrational moron.

“I’m just making sure you’re okay. You are working in a risky business after all. I’m sure old weird people go in there to just hit on the workers.” Eren explained looking over at Armin with some apology in his eyes.

Armin sighed and looked away from Eren sincere eyes. He should have known that Eren would be thinking that. Mikasa probably was too, but she was a lot less forceful on him than she was on Eren. She wouldn’t make him quit like she would Eren, no matter how worried she was about it. Eren on the other hand was always looking out for him. He simply cared too much for his friends (even Jean) and being his best friend made it even worse. “I’m okay. Seriously. It’s really not like that. Most of the night I just hang out with Levi and we just talk about random stuff. The customers are nice and mostly younger. I haven’t even been hit on.”

“You sure? You’re not gonna secretly be prostituted away, are you? I heard that sometimes happens at these jobs.”

Armin rolled his eyes, “Seriously? I wouldn’t let that happen. Now can we please go shower and drop it? It’s just a job.”

Eren sighed and nodded, “okay.”

After his classes, Armin found himself walking to Levi’s in his uniform and a bag full of chocolate chip cookies. He had ended up making them, but he decided he would just tell Levi that he made them for everyone and that these were the leftovers. He wanted to say thank you after all. He walked in and saw Farlan and Levi bringing out boxes from the back. “Oh, you’re here early, Levi.”

Levi looked over at him and nodded, “Yeah, I decided y’all might need an extra pair of hands since we got a huge ass order of lingerie in.”

Armin nodded and clocked in, “Well, I wanted to say thank you for driving me home last night and we had made these in class, so feel free to eat these. You too, Farlan.”

Farlan eyes lit up, “hell yeah! We got ourselves a baker, Levi!”

Levi looked over at the cookies and then over at Armin, “it was no big deal, but thanks.”

Armin nodded and walked over to help bring out boxes before starting to sort the lingerie by size and design. He honestly hated these boxes the most. The lingerie that weren’t in boxes were always wrapped in plastic that he had to cut open and then put the bralettes and panties on a hanger that was hard to open the clips on because the hangers too were plastic and half of them were broken. He then had to label the hanger the correct size. It was a tedious process that had his thumbs sore by the end of it. The boxed lingerie was a lot easier because he just had to sort the boxes and then go find a hook to put them on. The holidays were coming up so they were getting a lot of festive lingerie in. Halloween was right around the corner and so a lot of the clothes were themed as ghosts, cats and pumpkins. They worked as a team and by the time Farlan had to leave they only had the toy boxes left to sort through and put out.

“Thanks for the cookies, Armin! You rock, man! I’ll see ya tomorrow!” Farlan snickered as he grabbed a couple more before running out the door with his back hitting his butt a little obnoxiously due to it seeming heavier than normal.

Armin waved at him before blushing when he realized it was just him and Levi. Farlan was great to have around because he would fill the silence with energy and singing. He was fun to have around despite him sometimes looking like an idiot when he did his air guitar. It made Armin laugh anyways and it kind of reminded him of Eren before the stress of school and moving out overtook him. He hoped once they finally got moved out properly the brunette would return to his fun loving self. He broke down another box and smiled a bit when he finally saw Levi break down and snatch a couple cookies up and take small bites out of them.

“These are good.” Levi hummed out before shoving them in his mouth so he could get back to work. “If I was at home I would savor the taste more.”

Armin smiled a bit wider and nodded, “I used a new recipe so I’m happy it worked out. This is the last box and then we’re done. Did Farlan get the cleaning list done?”

“Yeah, so we really don’t have much to do unless we get slammed with customers. Which gives us a moment to finally talk about my offer I mentioned the other day.”

“Oh, about me making more money?”

Levi nodded and got out a folder before handing it to Armin, “Feel free to say ‘no’, but I thought I would offer because you’re exactly what we are looking for. You see, the modeling agency I work for and partner with is needing a tiny, little, blonde. Someone of the innocent type. Annie,” Levi gestured to the picture of himself and the blonde that was under him, “came down with a cold, so she can’t really perform her best so we need a replacement. You would be crossdressing per warning, but it’s nothing too embarrassing.”

Armin’s eyes widened as he listened to Levi. This guy was out of his mind if he thought he could pull that off! He didn’t know the first thing in modeling!

“You would be making $1,000 and the pictures would be going into a magazine. Feel free to think about it, but I would need an answer by the end of the week.”

“What makes you think I’d be able to do something like that? I’ve never modeled before, yet alone something that women wear.”

Levi looked over at Armin and smirked a little bit, “I think you’d be the perfect innocent maiden who gets corrupted by a demon.”

Armin’s eyes widened and he blushed a dark red, “Don’t say things like that, you weirdo!”

Levi laughed and poked Armin in the side, “I’m just saying, I think you’d be perfect for it. Trust me, just act naturally and you’ll be fine.”   
  


“Would you be there…?”

“Of course, I am their main model. So, you’ll be in good hands.”

Armin took a deep breath. This was completely out of his comfort zone, but if Levi thought he’d be perfect then he didn’t want to say no. Plus an extra thousand would make his bank account happy. That was basically a whole month of work. He’d have enough to put down for the apartment then. It’s not like anyone he knew would read those types of magazines anyways. Armin had asked Levi what modeling agency he worked for on a previous night. He had explained he worked for Bunny PlayHouse, a BDSM agency that printed magazines every month. It was a tight niche group of a couple individuals that wrote and designed the magazine as inspiration for different scenarios. They sold the monthly copy here in the store which Levi had allowed him to read one day out of curiosity. It was basically pictures with different porn stories underneath them that Armin would assume would get some people in the mood, but to him it all seemed scary. Levi had laughed at him at this. The owner was one of Levi’s friends and Levi had told Armin that they never did anything he was uncomfortable with. All that considered, he figured why not. “Okay.”

“Cool, I’ll let Hanji know and they’ll give you the instructions.”

  
And thus it was the longest week and a half Armin had to fret over his appearance and whether or not he would be able to actually do this. To actually be Levi’s second model, something that was a big deal he later heard from Hanji since Levi was  _ very  _ particular about who he modeled with. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, but I kinda ran out of ideas! XD


	6. Modeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so SO much for your comments. I read every single one and they warm my heart! I hope you enjoy this (slightly) longer chapter!

Chapter 6

The building looked like someone’s home. It surprised Armin a little bit, but he hoped it would get him to relax. Hanji had sent him the address and he had been sent instructions on what to do the night before the photoshoot. It was mainly making sure he was clean and well shaved. Armin didn’t have to worry about that last part because he naturally didn’t grow much body hair and his facial hair rarely popped up. He assumed it was because he didn’t have as much testosterone in his body like others. He considered it a blessing.

The house looked like it was straight out of an architecture magazine. It had a bright, white roof and floor to ceiling windows. It had a modern, slanted look to it that paired well with the green hedges that lined the driveway. Armin felt a little out of place walking up to the house in his usual skinny jeans and Levi’s t-shirt on. He was off that night, but that didn’t stop him from wearing his comfortable work uniform due to the fact they were the only clothes clean. College life was too hard to worry about cleaning clothes regularly. 

He knocked on the door and waited patiently not expecting the burst of the door opening and a woman coming out and hugging him tightly. “Armin~! Thank you so much! I’m Hanji, your new very best friend!”

Armin stiffened before looking up at the woman. She had long brown hair that she put up in a small pony tail and had thick, rectangular glasses. They suited her well, Armin thought. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a blue stylish scarf and jeans that had holes cut out of the knees. “Umm… hello. I’m Armin. It’s nice to meet you.” He gave her an awkward pat on the back to return the unexpected hug. 

“Levi has told me a lot about you. I’m pleased you accepted his offer. He says you’re a great worker, so let’s get a workin.” She pulled him inside the entrance way where she instructed him to take off his shoes, which he did.

He followed her further in the wooden floored house, looking around at how normal it all looked. It was very clean and the white walls were lined with pictures of Levi, Hanji and another fellow Armin didn’t recognize. He assumed this was Hanji’s house now that he saw it more in detail. He followed her down the steps to what seemed to be the basement only to be shocked when he saw the walls lined with ropes, handcuffs, and other devices he had only glimpsed at at his job. “Woah…” He said, looking at the bed in the middle of the room that had a canopy above it and a soft dark blue comforter lining the mattress. For a second he had to wonder if Eren had been right and Levi had got him involved in the sex trade. “Um…”

“Don’t worry, this is for photoshoot purposes only. Nothing has been soiled here and the things that do get touched, for example someone gets whipped, gets properly sanitized. I don’t expect you to do anything that extreme. This is a fairly innocent photoshoot story. You are a sexy little red riding hood that was taking food to your grandmother’s to pass out to trick or treaters when a devilish demon comes out and takes you on a whole other ride.” Hanji snickered a bit, “I might have got carried away with the story a bit. You can read it if you want.”

Armin blushed a dark red, “N-No, I’m okay. I think I can pull that off.”

“Suit yourself, but you’re missing out!” Hanji cackled and led him further into the room where a wooden door with a bright yellow paper star hung. Inside, was a bunch of clothing, a makeup vanity with matching stool and more pictures lining the wall Hanji picked up a form fitting lace dress that was just slightly denser in design on the bust and privates. Armin didn’t feel like he could pull it off which he expressed to Hanji very quickly. 

“Don’t be silly! All of these have been tailored for you! It’ll be great. Just let me get you prettier and you’ll see. I promise we never make anyone look bad! And if you don’t like it we’ll go with something else, okay?”

Armin took a breath and sat down on a stool that was facing the makeup mirror. He looked at his pasty skin and his boyish features and shook his head, “I don’t know… don’t you think it would be easier for a woman to do this? Why are you even considering someone like me for this role anyways?”

“Don’t be silly. We do not judge here. We’re a small company and like to keep it that way, so we really don’t have that many models and Levi is very particular, like I said. If he didn’t think you could do this I don’t think he would even offer to let you in on this. Trust me, okay? You’ll look like an entirely different person when I’m done with you.”

Armin felt more reassured at Hanji’s confidence. They must know what they were doing and up for the challenge if they thought they could turn him into someone that the readers would want- and trick them into thinking he’s this sexy woman. He nodded and thus they began a process of giving him hair extensions that just made his hair shoulder length and gave him a side bang. Hanji brushed his hair in a way to make it appear messy, but in that cool styled way. They then got out a bunch of makeup supplies that Armin honestly couldn’t name and began to give him a natural look that brought out his baby face more and just a touch of mascara on his lashes. Hanji finished him up with lip gloss that just made his lips a more shiny pink color. Armin was very impressed at the lengths Hanji went to make him comfortable, even giving him pep talks and explaining they had gone to the store to get him new makeup, so that nothing was contaminated. By the time Hanji showed him himself he honestly couldn’t really recognize himself.

“We’ll do some other touch ups in photoshop, but we honestly don’t have to do much. With the contouring your face looks very feminine. I think our readers will like it, but more importantly do you like it?” Hanji was beaming at him as they continued to tease his hair and touch up whatever they needed to.

“I mean… for what we’re doing, yeah.” Armin got out with a chuckle. He felt beautiful, but not in a way that would make him want to dress this way all the time. He felt confident enough to do what he had to do to get through this photoshoot and that was starting to boost his perception of himself. Hanji left him to change into the dress and matching lace bra and thong. He looked at himself in the mirror and blushed a bit. He was cute and sexy. He hoped the story matched his appearance, because he was actually starting to care about how good of a job this turned out to be. It did take them well over an hour to get him looking like this, he wanted Hanji’s hard work to pay off.

Hanji came back into the room and handed him bottled water. “Here ya go. I gotta go dress Levi now, we’ll be next door in the other room if you want to join or you can stay in here if you need so alone time.”

And that's when everything spiraled for Armin. He didn’t know why he cared so much about what Levi thought of him. He really didn’t want the man to see him like this. It was far more embarrassing to know that his boss was going to be posing with him and doing who knows what to him with him looking like this. He looked in the mirror at his tomato face and felt panicked tears prickling at his eyes. He didn’t want Hanji’s makeup to get ruined, so he tried to take breaths to calm himself down. He knew Levi would see him like this, he just hadn’t prepared for it to happen so soon.

He drank more water and started to pace the room. After more agonizing moments of him fighting himself, he decided it was best to just rip the bandage off and go and see Levi himself. It would be better than him coming out of the room to where he knew they were waiting. At least if he went to them then there wasn’t as much pressure. Of course, he needed to tell himself this fifty times before opening the door to the room he heard the voices in, but when he did gather the strength he was relieved to find that they weren’t even looking in his direction.

“Shit for brains, if you stab me one more fucking time in my eye I’m going to kick you in the shin.” Levi winced and slapped Hanji on the arm.

“Then stop struggling! You always do this! You know we always put eyeliner on you. You know the more you move the more I’m going to stab you in the eye, but what do you do? You always move!”

“Who the fuck decided it was a good idea to put a fucking pencil  _ near your fucking eyes _ ?”

“The Egyptians! Now shut up and let me do it! The chick’s love a man in eyeliner!”

The laughter that came from Armin gave him away and he blushed a bit when they both turned to face him. “S-Sorry.”

“Look, Armin was a good boy for his eyeliner, now put your claws away and stop moving.” Hanji tapped Levi on the nose which only made the man swat their hand away again before he grumbled something Armin couldn’t quite hear, but it must have been the go ahead because Hanji started in on his second eye. “Don’t worry about him, Armin, he’s always a baby for this. He just thinks I’m gonna stab his eyes out.”

“Because you do stab me with the goddamn thing every time.” Levi hissed out, but it earned him a kick in the shin.

“Because you move like an idiot.” Hanji shook their head and tilted her head before nodding, “There, all done. Now go get dressed, demon boy.” They slapped him on the ass as he got up and turned.

He threw a glare their way before fully turning and looking at Armin for the first time since he found out the male had entered. What greeted him was not a disappointment per say. It wasn’t that Armin didn’t look good- he did- he just didn’t look like Armin. He had hoped Hanji would have kept him looking more like himself and less like a female version of himself. He kept his comments to himself though because he didn’t want to hear Hanji bitching at him about how the “readers” were more important than what he wanted. Most of the time Hanji was very accommodating to his outlandish demands, but he could understand why Hanji would want to make Armin undeniably female. While their magazine wasn’t target to women or men it was centered around hetero relationships. He also didn’t want to make Armin feel bad about how he looked. That was the last thing Levi wanted because more than anything he wanted to do this photoshoot with Armin.

Armin shifted in his spot under Levi’s steely gaze, time seeming to freeze in that moment before the male left without saying a word, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze when he passed. It made Armin feel relieved and worse all at the same time. What the hell did that mean? Did Levi like it? Did he hate it? Did he think that Armin hated it? Armin wasn’t sure and he wanted to die right there on the spot. He didn’t know if he could do this with Levi. It would be different if it was someone else, but since this was his boss Armin valued his opinion. He didn’t want to disappoint Levi, especially since he gave him this temporary second job.

“Ignore him. He’s just in a pissy mood.” Hanji huffed and patted Armin on the head, “you got this. I’ll guide you the whole time, okay?”

Armin nodded and walked out to the main room, sitting on the bed and bouncing on it a bit in anxiousness. He ran his hands over the lace on his dress. It only came down to his upper thighs  _ barely  _ hiding his male anatomy. He didn’t have to wait long in his state for Levi to come out. He looked up and saw the man wear a black leather jacket, a white shirt and dark skinny jeans. He was wearing combat boots and had black wings on his back and two horns on either side of his head.

“I feel fucking ridiculous.” He grumbled and joined Armin on the bed. “But I guess that makes two of us, huh?”

Armin relaxed and chuckled, “y-yeah.” He was relieved that Levi seemed to sense his nervousness and had kept his distance for the most part. Armin had quickly discovered that it was Levi’s subtle actions that transmitted what he was feeling rather than his words. It was the little things that mattered. For example, even though Levi most of the time got to work before Armin he would offer to take his break second or if he had extra snacks he would offer them to Armin. He was quick to frustration, but he showed a subtle patience to Armin when he had questions about the different models of whatever product he was struggling to understand. It was endearing and honest. It made Armin trust him and like him. It was why this small moment of them sitting on the bed chuckling at the ridiculous nature of the situation they found themselves in felt like it went on for a longer time than it did before Hanji ruined it. It was why Armin’s heart was swelling with more affection with each passing experience they shared.

“Alright! Time to get started, you two. The setting is the demon’s bedroom after he has seduced our dear maiden into bringing her cookies to his house. I need three pictures for the top of the magazine and then one for the poster inside. The first picture is going to broadcast our dress that is the main highlight of this issue. So, before we begin if anything I suggest that makes you uncomfortable, Armin, let me know and we’ll do something else, okay?” Once Armin gave the go ahead, Hanji continued with her instructions.

Armin laid down on the bed and looked up at the canopy before it was obstructed by Levi crawling over him, keeping his distance at first before resting his hips gently on his. Armin bit his lip for a moment before he realized he was probably messing up the lip gloss. He stopped and stared up at Levi taking in his features. It felt very intimate, but he wasn’t uncomfortable. He felt Levi’s hand slide up on his outer thigh under the dress and they held that pose for a moment just staring at each other. Armin felt like his heart was beating out of his chest and he wanted to squirm away from Levi’s eyes. They didn’t give away any emotion and it didn’t help that the man was straight faced as ever. Armin was about to die of even more embarrassment when he felt a hand go into his before squeezing his hand. He took a deep breath and just let Levi pull both his arms above his head and pin his hands by his rest above him.

The hands left him a moment and he heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down and he blushed even more when his dress was pulled up around his hip bones. His hands shot down to cover his own privates and he let out a surprised sound from the back of his throat before words followed, “Woah! Where exactly is this going?!”

Levi was quick to get off him and kneel on the bottom of the bed just below Armin’s feet.

“Nowhere! I promise! None of our models perform sex on the job! What they do in their personal lives is a different story, but we make it look as real as we can for the pictures. The idea is to make the reader think our clothing brings in the attraction of their partner or demon.” Hanji chuckled, “so Levi will just be leaning over you and we’ll edit in the rest. Just act like he’s pleasuring you. I-If that’s okay!”

Armin took a couple calming breaths. It was bad enough to be seen this way, but he  _ seriously  _ hadn’t prepared for this. He was told to look at their earlier issues to get a sense of what he was doing, but he could never bring himself to because it was far too embarrassing. Now he was regretting not being more prepared. “Okay. You’re right… sorry it just looked so real…” He lied through his teeth because he didn’t want them to think he hadn’t researched.

Levi carefully got back in position and it took all of Armin’s willpower to not think about how he could feel  _ everything  _ where their hips connected now that Levi’s pants were undone. He blushed and closed his eyes. He hoped he was making the correct faces considering he had only ever pleasured himself and never been with anyone else. He could hear Hanji giving him encouragement and praise. They continued to take pictures, Armin losing more and more clothes as they went until he was just in the bra and thong. He felt subconscious and covered his stomach up a bit by wrapping his arms around it.

Levi put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it before leaning down and whispering in his ear, “You’re doing great.”

Armin’s eyes shot open when he heard himself moan at the words. His face turned a bright red, even more so than any other time before, and he was shocked to find how aroused he was. He bit his lip again to try to calm his body down before Levi noticed. He was just about to tell Levi to get off him before Hanji saved him. 

“Alright! I think I got what I need! Thank you both!”

Armin was quick to shove Levi off him and run to his fitting room and shut the door. He slid down it and smacked his cheeks. He  _ prayed  _ that Levi didn’t feel anything or heard his little moan of pleasure. How embarrassing! That was such a… a  _ virgin _ move! He pulled at his hair and dreaded leaving this room. He knew he had to face them eventually, but maybe it would be better if it was just his rotting corpse that faced them rather than him. It sounded good to him. He could just stay in here until he died. Very practical. 

“Armin, sweetie? You okay?” came Hanji’s concerned voice from the other side of the door.

“Y-Yeah, just felt sick all of a sudden. I-I just need a moment…” Armin didn’t know how he got that out, but it sounded good to him. He walked over to the makeup station and started taking off the hair extensions, the makeup and the stupid bra and thong. It threw away the trash and put the clothes in a hamper that he discovered next to the trash can in the corner. He quickly put on his clothes and looked at himself in the mirror. He could see the tears returning to his eyes and he knew he couldn’t stop them this time. He would just have to run out before they exploded. He was just too embarrassed to face this reality. “H-Hey. I’m gonna head home now, okay?” He was surprised to actually find Hanji on the other side of the door still. They must have been waiting on stand by if he needed anything. 

“Okay. Want me to drive you home, darling? Or I can ask Levi?”

“NO!” Armin blushed and cleared his throat, “N-No. I’m okay. Thank you. I-I’m meeting my ride down the block.”   
  


“Okay, hun. You’re as white as a ghost, please, get home safe. Don’t worry you’re not the only one who gets sick after doing something like this. If you want I don’t have to publish it.”

  
“No, no, that’s not it. It’s something I ate. See ya.” Armin walked up the steps and was relieved to see that Levi was nowhere to be seen when he passed. He walked out the door and booked it home. He did not want to face reality right now. A bed and under fifty covers to hide from everyone sounded all too good right now. He’d have around twenty hours to figure out how to face Levi again, or maybe he would just never go into his job ever again. He didn’t know. What he did know was that he wanted to be home  _ now _ .


	7. Wet Dreams

Chapter 7

Armin got home to Eren looking at him in confusion. “Whoa, is that make up?” The brunette asked from his perch on his twin bed. Eren wasn’t wearing a shirt and he had the covers over his lap. Armin hoped he hadn’t interrupted anything dirty especially since he had to unlock their door, which was uncommon as their friends came and went as they wanted.

“Yeah… I don’t want to talk about it.” Armin’s voice came out scratchier than he had liked. He had cried all the way home. He felt bad leaving like he did, but he didn’t know how he was going to face Levi. He just wanted to crawl into his warm bed and leave it at that. He should have known that the modeling job was a bad idea, but who was he to predict the future? He just wanted the money to get their apartment. He wanted his life to be simple for once in his life.

“Okay… My door is always open for you though.” Eren said watching him slink under his covers and putting his pillow over his head. Eren didn’t know what to think, he was beyond concerned, but he also knew how stubborn Armin was. The little mushroom wouldn’t say anything to him if he didn’t want to and there was nothing he could do about it.

Armin didn’t quite know when he fell asleep, but when he did he found himself dreaming things he never even thought about before. He was laying in a bed, his hands above his head shackled. The metal bit at his wrists making them cold. He had a silk mask covering his eyes and something in his mouth that his teeth were biting into. He could feel light touches grazing over his stomach making him moan around whatever was in his mouth. His toes curled at the sensation of the chills running up and down his spine.

“You’re doing great.” Levi’s voice whispered in his ear and Armin could see stars the moment his hand went around his erection. He could feel Levi’s weight adjust on him as mouthed at his neck. He couldn’t control the noises leaving his body and from the sounds of Levi’s approving voice he didn’t mind.

Armin could feel Levi go faster and faster, teasing at his tip until he was so overstimulated he came without much thought on his mind other than Levi.

Springing up from his sleep, Armin tried to catch his breath as he looked around their dark room. His cheeks burned a bright red when he realized he was wet from sweat and other fluids. He looked over to see if Eren was still asleep and once that was confirmed he went about getting out of bed and heading to the showers. He rubbed at his eyes and bit his lip nervously. How was he supposed to face Levi now? It was just getting worse and worse. He didn’t even really like him like that. Sure, Levi was fun to be around. He was older and therefore more mature which was charming to Armin, who at times was surrounded by idiots. 

“Armin, you okay?”

Armin jumped, dropping his towel and extra clothes and turning to find Marco sitting by himself on a bench with a towel wrapped around his shoulders and only wearing boxers. Sometimes Armin forgot how much muscle Marco actually had. Compared to Jean he seemed to always be the chubbier of the two, but really he was just more muscular under his soft pastels and geeky clothes. Armin shook his head and looked away, “I… I’m just in a situation.” Marco and Jean were typically good people to rely on when it came to advice out of their friend group. They were honest. Mikasa and Eren were clouded by their protectiveness. Connie and Sasha were just goof balls. Reiner and Bertolt were okay with advice, but Armin wasn’t really close to them. They were closer to Jean and Marco, who when Armin really thought about it were the stars of the friend group that connected everyone together.

They had all met in college. Surprisingly, Marco befriended Eren first. They had the same class together that Armin couldn’t remember the name of. Marco was a people person and grabbed Eren to be his partner for a project. They didn’t get much of their project done when Eren went over and realized that Marco’s room was full of video games. They played those the whole time they were partners and ended up turning in a half done, half rushed project that scored them a C. It didn’t damage Marco’s grade that severely, but it decimated Eren’s. Armin had to pick up extra study shifts with Eren after that, which Marco apologized for. After that Eren would sneak off to Marco’s room regularly. That’s when they met Jean, who scolded Eren for hanging out with his boyfriend more than Jean. Apparently Jean and Marco had agreed they needed to find more friends other than themselves or they were going to tear their relationship apart by being too clingy. So, Jean was spending that time with his two friends, Reiner and Bertolt, and Marco spent his time with Eren. This led to a huge fight of Jean being a jealous baby and Marco being sick of it. It all turned out okay though because they compromised on just having the same friends and thus naturally their friend group came together. Connie and Sasha came into the picture by themselves when they crashed at their lunch table one day. In the end it all worked out for the best, Armin supposed.

“How about you get a shower to clear your thoughts and then we can go get some coffee? I was gonna meet Jean after his shift, so we’d get 50% off.” Marco beamed. Jean and Eren worked at the same coffee shop, but on different shifts. The manager found out quickly to not put them on the same shift because of Jean and Eren getting into a fight over who could serve the most customers. It ended up getting the customers served the wrong drinks and everyone ended up being upset that day. So, they worked it out to where Jean worked 3rd shift and Eren worked 1st shift.

“Are you sure? I know you guys don’t get much one on one time.”

“Oh, trust me, Armin, we do.” Marco winked at him before snickering at Armin’s darkening cheeks. “Go get clean, it won’t be long.”

After Armin’s shower, he found himself at Coffee Caverns in a high top stool with a black mug of steaming hot chocolate with whip cream on top. He drank in the liquid and hummed as it warmed his insides. He felt better after his shower, but he honestly didn’t want to admit anything to Marco and Jean, but he knew he had to ask someone for advice. And who better than two people already in a committed relationship? “How did you two know you wanted to be together?”

Jean took a sip, humming quietly, “Well,” he swallowed the hot liquid, “When I first met Marco I just thought he was really cute. He was sitting front row at one of my shows and afterwards he came up and talked to me. After getting to know him, I just kinda had a feeling. So, I asked him out and we’ve been together ever since. I can’t really explain it. It’s like I am just comfortable around him and I like that.”

Marco nodded, “At first I thought he was just super cool. I was a little starstruck, but after that faded he was just always there for me, so I really couldn’t say no to him.”

“So, you just took a leap of faith?” Armin didn’t feel that was okay. What if something had happened and one of them said no? How did they know they were even going to be good together? “But how did you know you just didn’t like each other as friends?”

“That’s the thing. We were just friends in the beginning. I just felt something for Marco I’ve never felt with anyone before.” Jean smiled looking over at Marco with a shine in his eyes. “It’s like everytime I see him my body gets all warm.”

Marco giggled and leaned over and kissed him, “You flatter me too much.”

Armin averted his eyes and sipped at his drink. He had seen Marco and Jean gush at each other enough to know that they were not shy about their PDA. Though Marco was far more bold in public than Jean was.

Jean cleared his throat, blushing and looking away from Marco, “A-Anyways… why do you ask, Ar?”

“W-Well… you see…” Armin blushed and bit his lip a bit, “My manager…”

“At the sex shop? Ain’t he like old af?” Jean said accusingly.

“N-No. Well… he’s in his early thirties, but like it’s not that big of a deal. Not the point. Ummm…” Armin didn’t even really know where to begin. He felt like he didn’t even know Levi and now he was having wild dreams about him. He supposed he would just tell them about last night since that was what was bothering him. He didn’t disclose the fact that he was in women’s clothing, but otherwise he told the truth.

“Well, it sounds like to me that you were just caught up in the moment. I mean, if I was under someone in that situation I would get a little aroused too. Especially if they were attractive.” Marco smiled at Armin. He had been in Armin’s shoes before. He wasn’t always so sure of his feelings for Jean and only time told that he wanted to be with him every day. Almost to an obsessive point, but he was lucky to realise they were getting so close. 

“Yeah… I guess… I don’t know. My brain is a mess. I don’t know how I’m going to look at him anymore. Especially since I keep dreaming about him. It’s all so complicated. I don’t even really know him. We just talk as we clean the store and sometimes… I feel like I’m melting under his gaze or when he touches my shoulder. Like… ugh…” Armin rubbed at his eyes and shook his head, “I don’t want to tell Eren about any of this cause I know he’ll just be a bitch baby about it all.”

Jean snorted into his drink making a mess on the table that he was quick to clean, “Yeah, he is like that a lot.”

“Why don’t you just be honest with Levi? He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders. I’m sure he’ll tell you what to do or find a way to make you more comfortable.” Marco said jabbing Jean in the ribs with a glare for him to take this seriously.

“So, what I should just go up to him and say something like ‘hey I know we don’t know each other at all, but I dream that you do things to me every night so there’s that?’” Armin deadpanned before shaking his head frantically. “I could never. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I even said that now.”

“You could just say you’ve caught some interest in him. Who knows maybe he’s married and will just let you down. That means you can move on faster. It’s better to just get these things over with before you make yourself sick of worry.” Marco nodded to himself. He didn’t really know if he was giving the greatest advice, but by the looks of it, Armin had worried enough.

Armin nodded and thanked them both for the hot chocolate and the advice before leaving them both for class. He felt more or less still as lost as ever. He didn’t know what he was going to do just that he had to know his decision by tonight when he went in to talk to Levi. Armin thought he could figure anything out as long as he used his wits, but this was far above him. Love and emotions that went with it weren’t scientific. They weren’t fact. They were just chemical imbalances that the human brain justifies. They just happened and there was nothing you could do to replicate it or destroy it. That was why they couldn’t be understood. At least that’s why Armin couldn’t understand them.

And he still didn’t understand them by the time he got to Levi’s. He took a couple deep breaths before entering the store. He saw Levi on a ladder dusting the tops of the shelves. He turned and made eye contact with the blonde before nodding at him. “Hey, I grabbed some Oreos for tonight's snack. Feel free to help me eat them. I also brought milk. It’s in the fridge though, obviously.”

Armin relaxed at Levi breaking the ice like usual. He smiled and nodded, “Thanks. Sorry, I didn’t bring anything tonight.” He clocked in and went over to him to help give him the merchandise that went on the shelf he had cleaned.

“That’s okay. I got the family pack. If we go through that in one night then I think I have a weight management problem.” Levi patted his rock hard abs, “And that is a no.”

Armin laughed and shook his head, “If you could eat them all in a night then I think you’d have more than just a weight issue. Though it is the healthier snack you have brought us.”

“Healthy my ass. Just because they’re vegan doesn’t mean they aren’t loaded in sugar and chocolate. Perfect for a late night snack.” 

Nodding, Armin moved onto the bottom shelf to clean to meet Levi in the middle, “Well, it’s better than the cupcakes you always bring in.”

“But they are damn good and you know it.” Levi looked down at him and smirked a little, “So, did you throw your guts up outside? Hanji said you weren’t feeling good.”

Armin nearly dropped the glass shelf he was cleaning at the sudden change of topic, “Eh… no! I just wanted to get home and rest.”

“Well, I’m sorry I am just so grotesque.”

“No!” Armin blushed more and started scrapping at a speck of dirt, “I-I mean… I think it was just the whole thing in general. I-It wasn’t you… I mean… you did great and helped me get through it which I appreciate. I just… didn’t feel good afterwards. Must have been something I ate.”

“That’s good. For a moment I thought I had pushed ya too far. Did you at least have fun?”

“Yeah, I did. Hanji was very nice.” 

“Hanji is a freak once you get to know them. Just wait till she gets yammering on about something she cares about. You’ll want to bring a whole bottle of vodka to drown yourself in.”

Armin chuckled. “I could believe that. That’s how Sasha and Connie are. Once they get going they never stop. Who was the other guy in the pictures at Hanji’s? You all seemed close.”

“That’s Erwin. He’s a dick head that went to Hanji’s college.”

“Oh? You seem to surround yourself with people you don’t like.”

“It’s more like people attach themselves with me. If it was my choice I would just live all alone in the middle of a forest away from everything.”

For whatever reason it hurt to hear that. Armin wondered why Levi was so against everyone and everything. He wished he knew more about the other man and he wished he could tell Levi that. He wished he could tell Levi a lot of things.


	8. Cock Rings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out this AMAZING artwork BlueGrammar did for our viewing pleasure  
> https://dreaminglilypad.tumblr.com/post/644736765147611136/a-fanart-i-made-for-the-fanfiction-sex-education
> 
> It is truly a delight!

Chapter 8

“Wouldn’t that get a little lonely though?” Armin asked as he wiped at a spot on a shelf. His mind was racing with thoughts of abandonment. It went beyond his crush on Levi. If Levi did get his wish would that mean he was out of a job? Surely the man had enough money to do what he wanted by now?

“I-” Levi was cut off by the bell ringing. He looked at Armin expectantly.

Armin got up and went over to greet their customers. It was a petite blond woman that didn’t look a day over eighteen and a taller, lanky black haired male. “Hello, welcome to Levi’s. Can I see your IDs?”

They passed them over and Armin looked them over before handing them over, “Is there anything I can help you guys look for today?”

“We’re just looking.” The man said cutting his girlfriend off before she could say much. He took her hand and passed Armin and walked further in the store. He watched them go before following them over to the toy section. He went back to the shelves that him and Levi were cleaning, now quietly, glancing over at them every so often. The soft volumized rock music overhead the only thing keeping the store from being completely quiet.

“Honey, why don’t we get you a cock ring? I heard they keep you from cumming.”

“Is that a problem with us though?” He asked looking over at her in offense.

“Well… no, not exactly, but wouldn’t you want to do me longer? Really tire me out?”

“I’m not talking about this  _ in public. _ Besides, I thought we were just here to get you something.”

“But while we’re here we could look at  _ everything. _ This is your first time being in one of these places.”

“I’m not really interested in this kind of thing. Aren’t we happy the way we are?”

“Sweetie…” Armin could hear the persuasion from across the room. This girlfriend was laying it on thick. “But we could add things to make it more exciting.”

“Okay, okay… how about this $5 thing then?” He said picking up a small package that was on a lower shelf.

Levi sat down the packages that belonged on his shelf and walked over to him. “I’m going to be frank with you. If you are a bigger guy, then it’ll break. It’s only for a one time use kinda thing. I would go with something like this.” He picked up the package Armin had figured he would pick up. Levi always went for the same products which made him predictable. “This is a rechargeable ring with four different vibration settings, so it’s a perfect couple toy. It’ll give her pleasure along with you, because it has these tips at the top of it that vibrate right on the clit. Add some lube and it’ll feel like little tongues all on the lady bits.”

The man shifted uncomfortably, but the girlfriend’s eyes lit up and looked the package over. “ _ Babe, please. _ ” She almost squealed in excitement. 

“The hole looks really tight…”

Levi held up his wrist where Armin hadn’t even noticed he had a band around one of them. He slipped it off and to Armin’s amazement it was a cock ring. “See? They stretch like crazy. There will be some pressure because it’s form fitting, but they will fit. It will also give you a more intense orgasm. Think of it like a coffee straw. If you don’t wear one of these think of it as a McDonald’s straw it’s easy for the fluids to go through it, but once you pop one of these on then it’s like a coffee straw and it’s much harder for the fluids to go through that straw making it a more intense orgasm. It will also keep you hard to keep on going.” 

The man’s eyes widened and he nodded, “Only if you want it, babe.”

“Of course!” She was practically jumping up and down from excitement. “Would you recommend something like this to start out anal?” She picked up the tiniest buttplug that they carried. It was as thick as Armin’s pinky.

“Honestly, no. These are more for novelty use. Think about it, you shit bigger than that, so this is just going to cause irritation if you plan to wear it for long periods of time and if you are naturally wider than the base won’t be enough to keep it from slipping past the sphincter and you’ll go to the hospital to get that removed. I recommend this starter kit.” Levi proceeded to sell them the starter kit, a douche, and some bed restraints. Armin was impressed because he didn’t think he’d be able to connect all those things together. Then upon check out he was shocked when Levi upsold them some lube and some condoms. 

“How did you do that?” He asked after the couple left. 

“The woman was clearly more comfortable in this setting than the man. So, I mainly just kept hooking her with the facts and she sold it to the guy. Then the rest is easy.”

That did make sense. Levi just seemed so cool when he did it though. It was why most people didn’t last long in the store with Levi helping them out. He knew how to reassure them and get them the best products.

“You’ll get the hang of it once you've been here awhile.” Levi said patting him on the back. “That’s why we’re a team.”

Armin blushed and looked down at his wet towel and fiddled it nervously. “If you think so.”

“I do.” Levi said before looking back over at Armin with a softer look in his eyes, “I’m holding a party at my house for Hanji. They said they wanted me to invite ya.”

“I thought we were just talking about how you would rather get left alone?” Armin mused, though the wound was still a little deep.

“Just because I prefer to be alone, doesn’t mean that’s what I get in life. People attach themselves to me and therefore I get attached back. Anyways, do you wanna come or not? Hanji has a special way of getting what they want whether the other person likes it or not.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”

“I met Hanji at my other job. They were very persuasive to get me to model for them. That was when Bunny PlayHouse was just a thought in their mind. They were upset over the fact that most porn magazines were targeted at heterosexual men. So, they decided to make a magazine that was a target for anyone.”

“Like how our session was targeted towards women and men?”

“Exactly, but they are also the head of the LGBT group here. They fought their way to the top to get more people who were Transgender and more particularly nonbinary representation.”

“So, did they choose the nonbinary lifestyle or did it choose them?” Armin asked curiously. He had never really thought about that spectrum of the LGBT tag. He knew he himself was on the gay spectrum, but he wasn’t very serious on the matter. He was lucky enough to grow up in a time where it didn’t really matter to be gay. It was considered normal unlike how it was back in the day.

“It chose them. Hanji is perfectly fine with me telling their story since I’m a friend, so don’t think I’m just telling ya all this without her permission. Growing up they were born female, but had a knack for the sciences. They weren’t interested in looking pretty or anything like that, but they also didn’t want to be a muscle head either. So, they simply decided to just strip themselves of all those labels. They enjoyed getting a thrill when someone didn’t know what to call them. So, when they found out what nonbinary was they attached themselves readily and went on to fight for those rights.”

“That’s really impressive. I don’t think I’d be able to do any of that myself. It was a miracle that I was able to come to terms with being gay, yet alone if I had to uproot my whole sex.”

“It was a challenge, but Hanji had a strong home base that stood up for them.” Levi smirked a bit and glanced over at Armin, “I was curious what your orientation was after we did the photoshoot.”

Armin’s face went dark red and he decided to distract himself with the last shelf, “O-Oh yeah?” He had completely forgotten about the fact he had gotten aroused while being under Levi. His boss hadn’t brought it up, so he assumed he was safe to just forget about it.

“Yeah, I mean not everyone would cross dress and do something like that at a moment's notice. I didn’t want to pry though.”

Armin relaxed a bit and shrugged, “It wouldn’t be the first time I had to do something like that. Eren was sometimes cruel with his truth or dares growing up.”

“Well, you did look very gorgeous in your dress, though I wish Hanji had kept you more natural looking. I think you look best without the bells and whistles.”

Flustered, Armin didn’t know what to say as he continued to just stare at the shelf. When it didn’t seem like Levi was going to continue to talk Armin broke the silence with a stutter, “W-Well… you looked really good too…”

“It is why I’m the favorite model according to the people… though… I have a feeling they’ll request you more often now.”

  
“Y-You think?”

“Yeah. Or I certainly hope so.”

Armin turned to ask what that meant when he came face to face with Levi and then their lips connected.


	9. The Kiss

Chapter 9

Levi would have liked to live a quiet life out in the middle of nowhere, but life didn’t turn out that way. From an early age he was forced to work on his uncle's farm. His parents always wanted him to be fully disciplined and an upstanding person of society. They put him to work as soon as he knew what the word meant and that caused a rift in their relationship. By high school, Levi was over their bullshit. His childhood friend, Farlan, had ditched him a couple years before he entered freshman year due to Levi always working and never being able to hang out outside of school. Levi didn’t really blame him. It was easier to deal with things when he didn’t have outside relationships to add onto his plate. They reconciled their friendship once Levi asked him to go into business with him. He had never gone to college himself because he didn’t want to follow his parents orders. He wanted to make a life for himself the way he wanted to. That made it the end of his and his parents relationship. They hadn’t talked since they kicked Levi out.

Starting a business was rough at first. He was living on Farlan’s couch with nothing, but the clothes on his back. As much as he disliked people, he ironically found jobs that worked mainly in the public. At the prime age of twenty he knew he was good looking and he knew with a few tricks up his sleeves and some luck he could get somewhere if he started stripping. He had found out that if he worked for a large named place he could be taking home hundreds of dollars a night. He just had to stay away from the drugs and keep a tough stance up. Both were easy for him. He had a goal in mind. Farlan left the money raising for him and went and found them a building. It took ten years to finally get all the bullshit settled. In that time Levi had met Hanji and Erwin through his stripping and they asked him to model for their also brand new magazine. Things were coming together. Levi hadn’t necessarily choose the sex industry it just fell in his lap really.

Farlan and he worked every day from sunup to past sun down to keep their store nice and to keep the customers flowing in. It was rocky at first, but once people found out they were locally owned and that they donated some of the proceeds to organizations that supported things like the homeless and the LGBT community, well, let’s just say it didn’t take long for things to get running. That’s when Farlan suggested they hire more help.

Applications came in steadily enough, but majority Levi didn’t take them very seriously. The applicants themselves ruined it by thinking this was all fun and games. As much as it could be, underneath it all this was still a business and this was work that should be taken seriously. Levi was about to give up all hope when an email came through one late night.

_ Armin Arlert. _

The application itself wasn’t that impressive. No job history and just barely at the end of college. Levi decided to look the name up on social media to see if that told him more. It wasn’t that he was getting desperate, but Farlan was getting pissy with him for being so picky.

Armin’s accounts weren’t private whatsoever. Levi could see the kids whole life if he really felt like it, but he focused on the past year. It looked like the kid had a lot of friends and was strong willed. There were lots of debates on his page that were well thought out and well written. The kid was pretty smart, but didn’t come across as a knowitall. Levi could admire that. He made the call and when he got the answering machine he decided to just leave a message and hope the kid would get back to him.

Their conversations started out slowly. Levi liked how Armin looked so embarrassed yet so interested at the same time when he showed him different products. He laughed at his jokes and after a while he started sharing his snacks with the kid. Armin was very polite and very nice to be around.

“You like this kid.” Hanji smirked at him from across their living room. They were having lunch at their place before he went into work that night.

“I mean, he’s a good worker.” Levi shrugged it off. He didn’t really know much about Armin. He had maybe internet stalked him a bit, but that was only because he wanted conversation starters. He sent the kid a friend request and he had accepted it, so, in a way, it was with permission. 

“No, you  _ like  _ him. I can tell. You haven’t talked this much about one person since Petra.”

Levi bit into his salad with a bit of a grimace. “Can we please not speak of that?”

“Levi…” They sighed and shook their head, “Sweetie, you know Petra has been abroad for years now. She wishes you well, but you need to move on sweetheart and I think your heart has, whether you realize it or not.”

“We didn’t exactly end things.”

“You didn’t exactly start things either. You had one farewell kiss. It’s not like you guys were an item. Besides, Armin is cute! I want to dress him up! You think he’d be interested in modeling?”

Levi relaxed when Hanji had changed the subject. Hanji knew him better than he knew himself. It was infuriating, but it was also a blessing. He could count on them to get him through the rough shit. Where Farlan made most things into a joke, Hanji took him seriously. He supposed he should listen to them about the Armin thing, but he wasn’t exactly ready to deal with actually moving on. This was why he wished he just didn’t know anyone. It was easier that way. Actions spoke louder than words. All his two lovers left him. He didn’t exactly want Armin to leave him too. He was just beginning to enjoy the other’s company. 

But seeing him dolled up by Hanji might be fun.

“I’ll ask him tonight if he’d be interested. No promises though.”

“Oh, Levi! It’ll be so much fun! Annie was asking for some time off anyways!”

That’s how they ended up at the photoshoot together. Levi could tell Armin was nervous, so he made jokes even if they were at his own expense. He was gentle with the kid and listened to him. He didn’t want the kid to be traumatized as he had been in the past. Once, Armin got comfortable enough he could tell the kid was having fun. He looked beautiful under Levi. His skin was so soft under his hand. Levi tried not to show how much he wanted to just devore his little red riding hood.

“Levi, unzip.” He heard Hanji from behind the camera.

Armin must not have heard her because he freaked when Levi lifted the dress even further up and undid his pants. His reaction to cover himself was cute to Levi. It’s not like they were opposite sex or that Armin was fully naked under the dress. Levi slid back on him once Armin had given the okay to continue. Levi had to take several breaths to keep himself calm. It was very difficult when he could feel how aroused Armin was. He felt like he was being tortured. He was so close to Armin and yet he felt so far away. He pulled Armin’s dress off and slid his hands up his sides. He leaned down and whispered in Armin’s ear wanting him to relax. Armin had done a fantastic job, in Levi’s opinion, but he was not surprised when he ran out on him and Hanji. He just hoped he hadn’t pushed the kid too far. 

“Dude, calm down. He’s going to show up.” Farlan huffed out as he was heading towards the door to leave for the day.

“I don’t know. He was really freaked out yesterday. What if he felt how aroused I was?”

“Were you? For him?” Farlan asked leaning against the wall in interest. 

Levi cleared his throat and looked to the side. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s fun to talk to.”

Farlan smirked and nodded, “You like him.”

“Ain’t he a little young? People are gonna call me a pedo.” Levi sighed, rubbing his forehead. Of course Farlan would be able to figure out his feelings before he did. He felt like everyone around him knew him better than he knew himself which  _ really  _ pissed him off. Even if he did like Armin, it’s not like they knew shit about each other. They were just boss and employee. That meant it was complicated.

“Dude, seriously? It’s not like he just turned 18. He’s in his twenties. Besides, he’s a cute honeybun.” Farlan winked at him, “if you don’t snatch him up, I will~”

Levi rolled his eyes, “Like he’d go for a stoner like you.”

“I could corrupt him. He seems  _ very  _ corruptible. Besides, if he’s willing to date his boss then it doesn’t really matter does it? It’ll only get complicated if things go bad. I think you should give it a shot. Especially after Pet.”

“Why is everyone bringing that up like it fucking matters?”

“Because it does. You fell in love with her the moment you laid eyes on her and then let it fucking go until she fucking left, my man. Don’t let this one leave too.”

Levi sighed and watched Farlan finally leave him alone by exiting the building. He didn’t have to wait long after that to have Armin come back in. He was all sorts of confused and he didn’t really know what the fuck he was saying to the kid. He was just relieved that he came back. It was awkward at first, but Levi got him to come around and soon it was back to normal. He even scored with Armin agreeing to go to Hanji’s birthday party this weekend. Hanji, Levi and Erwin all celebrated their birthdays early because of the rush at the end of the year with holidays. It was just easier that way. He neglected to tell Armin that it was his birthday party too, but he didn’t want the kid to feel obligated to get him a present. He knew that Armin was in financial burden. That much was clear with how much the little mushroom was relieved by getting any type of job.

“That’s really impressive. I don’t think I’d be able to do any of that myself. It was a miracle that I was able to come to terms with being gay, yet alone if I had to uproot my whole sex.” Armin said while he washed the shelf he was on. Levi admired how well he cleaned the store. Armin was such a serious worker.

“It was a challenge, but Hanji had a strong home base that stood up for them.” Levi smirked a bit and glanced over at Armin, “I was curious what your orientation was after we did the photoshoot.” He truly was. It was one of the things that stopped Levi from even addressing his feelings(?) to Armin. He didn’t know what to really call whatever he felt. It was somewhere between fondness and attraction. Hanji and Farlan’s words resonated inside his head. Maybe he should just go for it. It would make things so much more simpler. Armin would reject him and then that would be the end of it. That’s what Levi in a way hoped, but it didn’t feel right to just hope for that either. He was confused.

“O-Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean not everyone would cross dress and do something like that at a moment's notice. I didn’t want to pry though.” Levi felt awkward. He could feel the mood shift in the room again. Armin was red in the face. He normally was in general, but it seemed to be getting worse. Levi wondered if it was just around him or if it was around others as well. He wanted to touch those warm cheeks and feel how soft they were. Were they as soft as his thighs?

“It wouldn’t be the first time I had to do something like that. Eren was sometimes cruel with his truth or dares growing up.”

From what Armin had told of him about Eren he seemed like a bit of dick. He didn’t quite understand why Armin would be friends with a guy like that, but then again he didn’t understand why he was friends with anyone. He continued to stare at the blond and couldn’t help but slip a flirt, “Well, you did look very gorgeous in your dress, though I wish Hanji had kept you more natural looking. I think you look best without the bells and whistles.”

Levi went back to cleaning and he thought that would be the end of the conversation. He was okay with that. He could take a hint. Armin wasn’t interested. He could respect that. That was until he heard the faintest, cutest, “W-Well… you looked really good too…”

Levi’s cheeks heated up and his mind raced to think about what to say to that. Armin wasn’t supposed to like him back. He was supposed to get denied for the third time in his life. He wanted it to just go back to how it was. “It is why I’m the favorite model according to the people… though… I have a feeling they’ll request you more often now.”

  
“Y-You think?”

Armin Arlert continued to surprise Levi with every step. Would he really be interested in modeling with him again? Even after the disaster that was the last time? He looked at the man and bit his lip. He was furiously wiping at a nonexistent spot on the shelf. He was too damn cute. Like a rabbit. He was flighty because he was so cute. Levi really didn’t know what was happening until he was right next to Armin. “Yeah. Or I certainly hope so.”

He saw the man turn and he leaned down and kissed him before his mind told him not to. He didn’t want to back out now. He didn’t want this one to get away too.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing or why I'm writing this. I watched season 4 and I remembered this idea I had while watching it and I went home and started typing. I used to work at a sex shop, so some of the stories in the future of this will probably be included from my real life, so have fun with that. This is not serious. Unless it becomes serious. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing with this. No prompt what so ever. 
> 
> Sorry for this. Hope this is somewhat decent.


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